What is Trip-hop?

Trip-hop is a downtempo, sample-based style that emerged from Bristol's late-1980s sound-system culture, fusing hip-hop production with cinematic strings, dub bass, and jazz samples. Massive Attack's Blue Lines (1991), Portishead's Mercury-winning Dummy (1994), and Tricky's Maxinquaye (1995) are its foundational records — though all three acts have rejected the label, coined by Mixmag, in favour of "the Bristol sound."